Cable guys like to pooh-pooh the concept of cord cutters, saying that the numbers are small and that the economy is the driving force. But a new study from Credit Suisse is bound to make pay-TV operators sit up and take notice: 37 percent of Netflix users between the ages of 25 and 34 use Netflix streaming services instead of pay TV, and another 30 percent of subscribers between 18 and 24 also have cut the cord.
"Netflix's low cost, subscription streaming service (with improving content) is our biggest worry and could become ‘good enough' for consumers with moderate income and TV usage to use as a substitute for pay TV," said a Credit Suisse analyst in a major report on the entertainment industry.
Credit Suisse said "Big Media" has the ability to control its own destiny, but it has a small window in which to do so. "The major U.S. entertainment conglomerates control approximately 70 percent of all TV viewing through its various broadcast, basic cable and premium TV networks and channels. And, content remains the lifeblood for distribution systems," Credit Suisse said.
Jon Najarian, co-founder of TradeMonster.com, in an interview with CNBC, said "The Netflix story just works."
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